Top-10, All-time bear shenanigan

August 3, 2012

A 129-pound, second-year bear, rummaging around in a trash bin at behind A-Frame Liquor in the Shady Rest parcel near Main Street, got its head stuck inside the bin, pulled the lid loose with its head, and then went for a walkâ€”wearing the trash bin lid as a collar.

Video of the spectacle immediately went viral on the Internet, and still photographs, taken from the movie, also went viral.

Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles came to the rescue, according to the Mammoth Lakes Police Department.

â€śHe said that the bear could not climb a tree or eat with the large, heavy metal lid on its neck,â€ť the MLPD said in a press release. â€śIt would not have survived without human intervention.

A police department spokesperson said officers and Searles contacted the California Department of Fish and Game.

Under the direction of Lieutenant Bill Dailey, wardens responded by zapping the bear with a tranquilizer dart behind a house on Mono Street.

â€śOnce sedated, the metal lid, weighing in excess of 10 pounds was removed,â€ť the MLPD said in its release.

â€śThe bear was found to be in good health. He was tagged and transported to a remote area and released.â€ť
The lid-lifting bear was among many involved in Mammoth over the past week.

Searles, addressing the Town Council Wednesday evening, said people around town â€śmight have forgottenâ€ť everything they have learned about bears around here.

There were two bear collisions, he said, and trash-bin break-ins were at an all-season high.

Specifically, the bears have been raiding trash bins at two restaurants, he said.

But the Lid-Lifter, now sure to be a part of Mammoth Bear lore, not only took the lid, he took the cake.